


Braids & Evil Eyes

by orphan_account



Series: Life With Sofiya [3]
Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 13:11:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3693503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Val and Zendaya get Sofiya ready for her first day of kindergarten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Braids & Evil Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is fiction, not reality.

“Val?”

His gaze met Zendaya’s through the mirror.  She wore sweatpants paired with one of his t-shirts and her hair was piled on top of her head.  She carried a small pink brush, which instantly caught his attention.  He quickly finished brushing his teeth before turning around to face her. 

“Is she okay?”

 “She wants you to braid her hair.”  That was answer enough.  Sofiya only asked Val to do her hair when she was nervous.  Apparently sliding the brush and his fingers through her hair soothed her. 

He nodded his understanding and Zendaya passed the brush off to him.  Kissing her on the cheek, he left the bathroom and made his way down the hallway.  Peeking into the room closest to the stairs, he saw his little girl sitting in the middle of her bed, her head bowed and hands clasped in her lap.  Her curly, shoulder-length hair dangled down around her face, creating a kind of brunette curtain that hid her from the world.  It was odd seeing a child, who was usually so lively and active, suddenly so quiet and still. 

He sighed quietly.  Although her birthday was a little late, being that she had been born in late August, the school had allowed her to enter Kindergarten.  She loved reading and was, therefore, ahead of the level where a five year old child should be.  She could be extremely shy upon meeting someone, but turned into a social butterfly once she got to know them.  He had hoped that meeting more kids her own age would help her come out of her shell a bit more, but now he wondered if they had made the right decision. 

“Moya solnishka,” he said, stepping into the room.  He had been calling her “my little sunshine” for as long as he could remember.  Just as Zendaya was the light of his life, so was Sofiya.  Growing up around the Chmerkovskiys, she had learned Russian.  While she could not speak it fluently, she could understand quite a bit of it. 

She peeked up at him through her hair, her green eyes meeting his. 

Reaching her arms out to him, she said, “Papa.”  He made his way across the room and sat down beside her. 

“Mama said you wanted a braid?”  

She nodded, turning her back to him in order to give him access to her hair.  He ran the brush through it a few times, smoothing the top and making sure that her natural part did not show.  She unconsciously leaned into his touch, seeking comfort.  After brushing her hair a few more times in an attempt to give her some sort of solace, he sectioned off her hair in the silence and started braiding. 

“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked after a few seconds. 

“I don’t wanna go.” 

“But you were so excited last night, remember?”  

She did not answer. 

He finished with the braid, wrapping a hair tie around the end, before asking, “Are you nervous?”

Again she said nothing, but after a few seconds she nodded hesitantly. 

“Baby, that’s natural.  Everyone is going to be nervous.” 

“Really?” she asked, turning to face him.  He smoothed a hand over her hair before kissing her forehead. 

“Yeah.  I was nervous my first day.”

“You were?”

He nodded.

“But you’re not afraid of anything.”

“Of course I am.  Everyone’s afraid of something.” 

“Even Uncle Maks?”

Val laughed.  “Yes, even Uncle Maks.”  She sat still for a moment, her face scrunched up in thought.    

“Okay,” she sighed, looking up at him.  He could not contain the amount of pride that he felt; although she was afraid of something, she was going to face her fear anyway. 

“That’s my brave girl,” he said, kissing her forehead again. 

“Knock knock,” Zendaya said from the doorway.  In the amount of time it had taken him to braid Sofiya’s hair, she had thrown on jeans and a clean t-shirt.  “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Sofiya answered, climbing down from the bed.  Val stood and took her hand, allowing her to lead the way from the room.  Zendaya grabbed his other hand and they all walked downstairs together. 

“Here,” Zendaya said, sitting her daughter down on the bottom step.  She reached over to the rug beside the door and grabbed the small shoes.  “Do you want to do them?” 

Val watched as Sofiya battled with indecision.  She was extremely independent – or as independent as a five year old could be.  Anything that she could do for herself, she did.  She had learned to tie her shoes a few months ago and had been putting them on herself ever since.  But now she faced a dilemma.  Try to be a big girl or let her mama, who she was not going to see for the next five and a half hours, put them on for her. 

Apparently missing Mama was what won out because she said, “No.”  Zendaya smiled before kneeling down, slipping the shoes on, and tying the laces.  Helping her to stand up afterwards, Zendaya pulled their daughter into a tight hug.

“I’m going to miss you today.”

“I’m gonna miss you too,” Sofiya answered, her head buried into her mother’s stomach.  Val heard her sniffle and, trying to avoid any tears before the bus came, he reached around the side of the staircase and grabbed her backpack. 

“Can’t forget this.”  He pushed her braid over her shoulder before slipping the bag onto her back.  Sofiya stood between her parents, smiling as she looked up at them.  Val had always been proud of his achievements, but marrying his wife and having his daughter were the two best accomplishments of his life.  Zendaya met his gaze; from the look in her eyes, she was thinking something similar. 

“We should go outside,” he said finally.  “You don’t want to miss the bus.”  He felt his heart melt as Sofiya reached up and put her hand in his. 

“Come on, Papa,” she said, pulling him to the door.  Zendaya swung it open, following them out into the driveway. 

“Stand next to Papa and I’ll get your picture.”  Val kneeled down next to Sofiya, pulling her in close for a hug.  They both smiled as Zendaya snapped a few pictures with her phone. 

“Are you going to send them to Grandma and Grandpa and Babushka and Dedushka?” 

“Of course!  And we can’t forget Uncle Maks and Uncle Alex!” 

Sofiya opened her mouth to say something, but the bus pulling up to the end of the driveway interrupted her.  She closed her mouth and swallowed, looking at the yellow vehicle hesitantly. 

“You’re going to have lots of fun,” Zendaya encouraged, squatting down.  “I’m the one that’s going to fall apart today.  What am I going to do without you?”  Sofiya was distracted from her own fears, turning her head towards her mother with concern.

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked quietly. 

“I think I’ll survive.  But can I have a big hug before you go?  It’ll help me make it through the day.”  Sofiya rushed over to Zendaya, hugging her around her legs. 

“I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, Mama.” 

“Say goodbye to Papa now,” Zendaya said, pushing her towards Val.  He kneeled down to her height and pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tightly. 

“It’s still okay to be scared, right?” she whispered.  Zendaya looked away from them, trying to give them some privacy.

“It’s definitely okay.”  He leaned away from her and, a sudden thought striking him, he removed his arms from around her.  “Here, take this with you.”  He slipped off one of his evil eye bracelets, wrapping it around her wrist a few times to make sure that it would stay there during the day.  She looked down at it before smiling up at him. 

“For protection?”

“For protection.  And for when you get scared.  This way, even if I’m not right beside you, I’m still there at school with you.”

Her smile widened.  “Thank you, Papa.” 

“You’re welcome.”  He pressed a kissed to her forehead.  “Better get on the bus now, moya solnishka.” 

“Okay,” she said, moving away from him. 

Val and Zendaya stood side by side in the driveway, watching as Sofiya climbed onto the bus and found a seat.  She waved at them from the window, her new bracelet clearly visible in the morning light.  They waved back while the bus down the road and remained standing in the same spot long after it was out of sight. 

Zendaya turned towards Val, taking in the worried expression on his face.  She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. 

“She’ll be fine,” she told him quietly. 

“I know.”

“She takes after you.  She wears her heart on her sleeve and worries about things easily, but she always comes through in the end.” 

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“I guess there’s no reason to still be standing out here,” he finally said, taking her hand in his.  “Let’s go back inside.”


End file.
